The present disclosure relates to work truck doors and latches, and in particular to a security tether for a vehicle compartment door latch.
Conventional compartment door truck latches include a pivoting handle acting as a lever where moving it in one direction latches the door and moving in the opposite direction unlatches the door. The handle is attached to a latch shaft that is attached to a pawl that selectively engages or disengages a lock lever to lock or unlock the latch. Under normal circumstances, however, securement between the pawl and the lock lever is often not enough to prevent a forced engagement on the handle from unlatching the door. The combined resistance from the arm and latch is not, on its own, strong enough to withstand extreme forces and prevent failure. This obviously limits the effectiveness of this latching mechanism.
An illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure provides a security tether which engages a portion of the pivot shaft attached to the handle and latch mechanism so that a force applied to the handle is absorbed by the tether to prevent the locking function from failing. In an embodiment, the security tether withstands a typical forced engagement applied by a human arm. If a tool is used to pry the handle and shaft, the security tether may cause a failure different from the prior art and instead the handle and shaft strip-out. The security tether, however, keeps the panel and, thus, the latch in place. This means that a forced incursion using tools on the handle will now only cause the handle to break but not unlatch the door. Such an intentional failure mechanism creates an additional level of security.
Another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure provides a vehicle that includes a door, handle, shaft, and a latch assembly. The latch assembly is coupled to the door to selectively secure the door. Further, the latch assembly includes: the handle being coupled to the shaft and configured to rotate the shaft about the shaft's longitudinal extent; a pawl is attached to the shaft and configured to move between latched and unlatched conditions when the shaft is rotated; a lock lever is movable between locked and unlocked conditions; when the lock lever is located in the locked condition, the lock lever engages the pawl at a first location so the pawl is prevented from moving to the unlatched condition; when in the unlocked condition, the lock lever is disengaged from the first location so the pawl is not prevented from moving to the unlatched condition; and a security tether configured to prevent the shaft from moving the pawl, when the lock lever is located in the locked condition. The security tether further includes: a plate attachable to the latch assembly; the plate includes an aperture sized to receive at least a portion of the lock lever that is disposed through the aperture; the plate includes first and second stop surfaces that limit movement of the lock lever; the first and second stop surfaces are also spaced apart from each other; the lock lever is movable between the first and second stop surfaces; at least the first stop surface is spaced apart from the first location on the pawl; and the lock lever engages the first stop surface when the lock lever is located in the locked condition to prevent the pawl from moving to the unlatched condition and unlatching the latch assembly.
In the above and other embodiments, the vehicle may further include: the lock lever engaging the first location on the pawl and the first stop surface to prevent the pawl from moving to the unlatched condition and unlatching the latch assembly; the first and second stop surfaces being non-parallel to a periphery surface of the aperture in the plate; the plate being attachable to the pin on the lock assembly; the plate does not move with respect to the pin or the lock lever; and the lock lever is movable by a lock cylinder that moves the lock lever about an axis.
Another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure includes a vehicle that includes a door and a latch assembly. The latch assembly is coupled to the door to selectively secure the door. A first portion of the latch assembly is located on a first surface of the door and a second portion of the latch assembly is located on a second surface of the door. The first and second surfaces of the door are opposing sides of each other. The latch assembly also includes: a shaft disposed through the first and second surfaces of the door; the shaft being configured to rotate about its longitudinal extent; a pawl attached to the shaft and configured to move between latched and unlatched conditions when the shaft is rotated; a lock lever spaced apart from the latch assembly and movable between locked and unlocked conditions; when the lock lever is located in the locked condition the lock lever engages the pawl at a first location so the pawl is prevented from moving to the unlatched condition, and when in the unlocked condition, the lock lever is disengaged from the first location so the pawl is not prevented from moving to the unlatched condition; and a security tether configured to prevent the shaft from moving the pawl when the lock lever is located in the locked condition. The security tether includes: a plate attachable to the latch assembly; the plate includes an aperture sized to receive at least a portion of the lock lever that is disposed through the aperture; the plate further includes first and second stop surfaces to limit movement of the lock lever; the first and second stop surfaces are spaced apart from each other; the lock lever is movable between the first and second stop surfaces; at least the first stop surface is spaced apart from the first location on the pawl; and the lock lever engages the first stop surface when the lock lever is located in the locked condition to prevent the pawl from moving to the unlatched condition and unlatching the latch assembly.
In the above and other embodiments, the vehicle may further include: the lock lever engaging the first location on the pawl and the first stop surface to prevent the pawl from moving to the unlatched condition and unlatching the latch assembly; the first and second stop surfaces being non-parallel to a periphery surface of the aperture in the plate; the plate does not move with respect to the pin or the lock lever; the lock lever being movable by a lock cylinder that moves the lock lever about an axis; and at least a portion of the lock cylinder being disposed through the aperture.
Another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure provides a vehicle that includes a door and a security tether. The security tether is configured to attach to a latch assembly on the door to prevent the latch assembly from being moved to an unlatched condition. The security tether includes a plate configured to attach to the latch assembly; the plate includes a hole disposed through the plate of a first diameter that is sized to receive at least a portion of a lock assembly that is disposed through the hole; the plate further including a channel formed at a periphery of the hole to create a portion of the hole to have a second diameter; the first diameter being less than the second diameter; the channel terminates at one end by a first stop and terminates at a second end by a second stop; and the first and second stops are spaced apart from each other and are configured to limit movement of the lock assembly.
Another illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure provides a vehicle that includes a door and a security tether. The security tether is configured to attach to a latch assembly to prevent a latch assembly on the door from being moved to an unlatched condition. The security tether further includes a plate configured to attach to the latch assembly; the plate includes a hole disposed through the plate that is sized to receive at least a portion of a lock assembly that is disposed through the hole; a portion of the hole extends to the periphery of the plate forming an opening transverse to the longitudinal extent of the hole; the opening terminates at one end by a first stop and terminates at a second end by a second stop; and the first and second stops are spaced apart from each other and are also configured to limit movement of the lock assembly.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments including the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.